Personal Statement Topic

[TrailMixedd]

Hi Everyone!
I am unsure if I should apply now but I am thinking of writing my personal statement and not sure how to go about it. I feel as if I want to be genuine and how my experiences have made me who I am but not sure if it has made me want to be a doctor. I was sexually assaulted as a teen (more than once), and as a male there is a stigma around it. I have never brought it up but have come to terms with it and even told people. I haven't done nothing to address it but it has affected my life greatly. Would you guys recommend I put that in my statement somehow, as I have accepted that it has been apart of my life and has made me who I am? I am unsure how I would tie it into how it has made me want to be a doctor. Thank you.

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[gyngyn]

Topics addressed in the application may reasonably be discussed in an interview.
As long as this is a defining aspect of your application and you are prepared to discuss it, there is no reason not to include it.

Sexual assault can be difficult to read about, as I am sure you are aware.

 

[TrailMixedd]

Topics addressed in the application may reasonably be discussed in an interview.
As long as this is a defining aspect of your application and you are prepared to discuss it, there is no reason not to include it.

Sexual assault can be difficult to read about, as I am sure you are aware.

thank you! that's why I never really even talked about it, nor would I ever imagined writing about it until now

 

[platty]

I don’t think there is a correct answer here, but if you’re comfortable sharing this and potentially discussing this, then I think it’s appropriate. Your personal statement can pretty much be whatever you want but I would definitely try to elaborate on why you want to be a doctor and your experiences that led you to want to go to medical school.

 

[TrailMixedd]

I don’t think there is a correct answer here, but if you’re comfortable sharing this and potentially discussing this, then I think it’s appropriate. Your personal statement can pretty much be whatever you want but I would definitely try to elaborate on why you want to be a doctor and your experiences that led you to want to go to medical school.

I am actually afraid of tearing up if they ask me about it lol. I have tried to think but find it hard to tie this experience in how it made me want to go to medical school, as I have never really tried to think about my traumatic experience...

 

[platty]

I am actually afraid of tearing up if they ask me about it lol. I have tried to think but find it hard to tie this experience in how it made me want to go to medical school, as I have never really tried to think about my traumatic experience...

I would try to think of something that fuels your motivation to become a doctor for your personal statement. Especially if you can’t tie this particular scenario into it.

 

[bonedoc5576]

I'm wondering if writing about the experience of being sexually assaulted being one's motivation to become a physician might lead the reader to conclude that the applicant's aspirations are a compensatory response to latent insecurity...not ideal. This would indeed explain why the applicant might want to be a surgeon, but unfortunately would be a boon only to the application of a future psychiatrist.

 

[DokterMom]

First off, I'm terribly sorry you had to experience such violations. Congratulations for getting through them the way that you clearly have.

If you're not seeing how those life experiences motivated you to become a physician, maybe it's because they didn't...?

I can certainly see how they would have been life altering, so perhaps the best course would be discussing those experiences within the context of your secondary essays. Common topics include challenges you have overcome, life experiences that bring something new or different to your class, and diversity. Your story can easily fit those.

 

[TrailMixedd]

First off, I'm terribly sorry you had to experience such violations. Congratulations for getting through them the way that you clearly have.

If you're not seeing how those life experiences motivated you to become a physician, maybe it's because they didn't...?

I can certainly see how they would have been life altering, so perhaps the best course would be discussing those experiences within the context of your secondary essays. Common topics include challenges you have overcome, life experiences that bring something new or different to your class, and diversity. Your story can easily fit those.

Thank you! I just never given a complete picture of myself before so I thought it would be something I should start talking about.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Not everything in your life has to be part of why you want to be a doctor. Don’t write about something just because it was a dramatic or traumatic event in your life. If you can’t think of how it motivated you to be a physician, it probably didn’t, and you probably shouldn’t write about it. Have you don’t any volunteering with victims of sexual assault or anything? Those experiences can go in your primary, and you can relate it there if you want (though if you can’t talk about it without getting emotional, I probably wouldn’t).